PB019: Write an Opinion Post [Day 19 of 31 Days to Build a Better Blog]

How to Write an Opinion Post to Draw People in to Your Blog Today's episode is all about how you can write an opinion post to draw people in to engage with you and your blog. Your opinion is something your readers actually want to know and it has the potential to set your blog apart from the pack. Strangers #3 - Hands Up by Dora Hon on 500px In this Episode You can listen to today's episode above or in iTunes or Stitcher (where we'd also LOVE to get your reviews on those platforms if you have a moment). Why sharing your opinion will help your readers Why sharing your opinion will help you to grow your blog How to decide which opinion to share Tips on how to share your opinion without offending people, looking like a show-off, or annoying people How did you go with today's challenge? Have you tried sharing an opinion on your blog? What opinion will you share next? I'd love to hear your feedback on this approach to getting readers to draw down into your blog in the comments below. Further Reading on Opinion Posts Don't Run from That Controversial Blog Post - CoSchedule 5 Ways to Get the Opinions of Others and Add Dimensions to Your Blog - ProBlogger Blog 7 Things Happen to You When You are Completely Honest - James Altucher gives us an insight into the reality of being upfront Should You Write Controversial Blog Posts? A Data-Driven Answer - Quicksprout Full Transcript Expand to view full transcript Compress to smaller transcript view Welcome to day 19 of the 31 Days to Build a Better Blog challenge and episode 19 of the ProBlogger Podcast. Today, I'm issuing you a challenge. It’s a challenge to write a blog post, but not just any blog post. Today, I want you to write an opinion post. This is freaking some of you out who like to keep your opinions to yourself, but don’t worry, there are gentle ways to express your opinion. Today, I’m going to share why opinions are important, but also give you some tips on how to do it, different types of posts that you might write depending upon the niche that you’re in. You can find today’s show notes at problogger.com/podcast/19, where you can also leave a comment to share the post that you write today so we can see it and you might get a little more traffic to your blog. Let’s get into today’s challenge. Hi, this is Darren from ProBlogger and welcome to day 19 of our 31 Days to Build a Better Blog challenge. Today is another writing challenge and it’s to write an opinion post. Some bloggers are going to have no problem with this one. You have lots of opinions. You don’t mind sharing them. In fact, some bloggers perhaps go a little bit overboard on that, but that’s another podcast. For many bloggers—myself included—sharing your opinion is something that you might not find comes naturally to you. That’s the way I was brought up. I was taught to keep my opinions to myself, so I worry naturally about what others are going to think when I share my opinion. What will they say? How will I be perceived? These are all things going on in the back of my mind as I sit down to tackle today’s challenge. Here’s the thing. When you add your opinion to a post, it’s actually something that your readers want. It has the potential to set your blog apart from the pack and become more useful. Opinions make your blog more useful. Readers are not just looking for news or what’s happening, they’re looking to see how that news impacts their situation. If I’m looking to buy a product, I don’t want to just know the features of a product, I actually want to know what someone else thinks about that product, for instance. Opinions also make your blog distinct. There are probably hundreds of blogs in your niche, maybe more. Your experience, story, and most of all your opinions are what make you and your blog unique. Don’t be afraid to share them.